In Whatever Time We Have
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: "I gulp. Just when I thought that my change had granted me a second chance at life, there is now the distinct possibility that I will die a slower, painful death, even with treatment. And all while now carrying a new life inside of me. Kent's baby. Happiness and despair go to war in my heart, and a single tear rolls down my cheek. Though I nod my head bravely." Please read & enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Could We Start Again, Please?

**Chapter 1: Could We Start Again, Please?**

 **Kent's POV**

I sit on the uncomfortable hospital chair, head between my knees, the harsh lighting of the recovery room glaring against my closed eyelids as I silently weep. The only sound is the jarring BEEP of the monitor. The monitor to which Sam Kingston, the love of my life, is hooked, unresponsive to the world.

Is that little monitor all that is keeping her here? I try not to think of the high probability. I can't think about much of anything. Even the frantic ride with her in the ambulance is blurry and hazy. I had to watch the paramedics lift her off that cursed asphalt onto a stretcher. Juliet Sykes was screaming hysterically, and I couldn't just leave her, so she tagged along; she is being looked over further down the hall.

I pick up on the faint rumble of elevator music coming over the intercom and will my brain to focus on it, tuning out the monitor's BEEPs as best as I am able.

 _"I've been living to see you... dying to see you, but it shouldn't be like this. This was unexpected - what do I do now? Could we start again, please? I've been very hopeful so far... now for the first time, I think we're going wrong. Hurry up and tell me this is just a dream. Could we start again, please? I think you've made your point now. You've even gone a bit too far to get your message home. Before it gets too frightening, we ought to call a halt. Could we start again, please?"_

It's exactly what I want to say to Sam - the beginning of so many questions, chiefly swirling around how... out-of-character she was today. Well, yesterday. With a groan, I look at the wall and realize it is 4:00 in the morning. I sniffle and sob quietly.

"Please... please, Samantha... come back... I love you!"

The timing is almost on cue. Telepathy and eerie. It is as if my voice awakens her. I hear a soft moan and then...

"Kent...?"

My head snaps up, and I see Sam conscious and tiny in that hospital bed, smiling weakly as she reaches for me. Choking and gasping back happiness and relief, I scoop her up in my arms, and nearly carry her away right there, until I remember just in time that she is still hooked up to machines. Gingerly, I set her back down.

"What happened?" Sam murmurs. "I'm not supposed to be here..."

"You were hit by a car, honey," I tell her quietly. She doesn't start or flinch at the term of endearment, which causes a bubble of hope to settle in my chest. "And don't say that! You must have wanted to live, if you came back from the edge."

"Or maybe I was just given a second chance..." Sam postulates quietly. The way she says this is very mysterious - mysterious as her behavior yesterday. It makes me wonder if she knew something, had a premonition. It makes me shudder.

"Where... where is my family?"

"They've been in to see you. They're in a meeting with the doctor."

Sam peers at me curiously. "And you stayed?"

"As long as you need me," I tell her firmly.

Sam gapes, and then seems to decide something. "Kent, come here," she whispers.

I obey without question, though my eyes are wary. As soon as I am bent over her, Sam grabs me and smashes her lips to mine. I hear her groan happily at the touch of my lips, and after a moment, I feel brave enough to kiss her back.

"And that's another thing..." I get out once we break apart. I have to twist away for air, even though Sam is still desperately reaching for me, her lips springing to make contact with any skin. "Why did you kiss me? Just now, and yesterday."

"I told you I meant everything," Sam says quietly. "It's just... something changed in me. I... saw you for the first time. And I saw who I was, and that... that wasn't who I wanted to be."

I consider this, regarding her curiously. "And now? What do you want now?"

Sam smiles weakly. "To be with you." Her eyes flit to her lap. "That is, if you'll have me. I hope I'm worthy."

I grin so wide, it nearly breaks my face. "Of _course_ I'll have you! And you are more than worthy, Samantha!" I bravely lean down and kiss her, and she doesn't object, her mouth upturned into a soft smile.

"Say my full name again," she whispers against my mouth.

I chuckle. "Samantha," and it flows from me like water. Sam purrs happily, and we break apart.

"I don't think I've ever heard you call me by my full name before," she murmurs. "It's nice."

"Then, I will do it often," I promise. I scoot my chair closer to her bedside, scraping it gratingly against the tiles, and fall into it, still holding her hand. "Can I get you anything?"

"Just you," Sam beams with affection.

"Well, look at that! I'm already here!" I crack and we both laugh. I feel her thumb weakly stroking over my knuckles. Our eyes lock.

"I love you," she expresses quietly.

I grin. "I know. I love you, too."


	2. Chapter 2: One Step Closer

**Chapter 2: One Step Closer**

 **Sam's POV**

The sights and smells and sounds of the real, beautiful world. I drink it all in like a newborn infant, because I did not think I would ever have the chance to experience any of it again. And the greatest sight of all is my house, as my dad pulls us up the driveway. On the front stoop is a sight that is a close second in its beauty: my new boyfriend, Kent, dutifully waiting for us and now springing to the minivan to assist me; he drove on ahead from the hospital. Although I haven't told my parents about my new relationship, they seem to have worked it out for themselves, judging by how Kent and I refused to let each other out of our sights in the hospital. They love him, praising him for how helpful he's been, which makes my heart swell with happiness.

"OK, I've got the crutches - here, Sam, give me your arm." Kent gently helps me out of the car and onto unsteady feet. I grip his forearm tightly as I work to maintain my balance. Slowly, I hobble up to my front door and enter the house, Kent physically glued to me the entire time.

"Just another step... there, the worst is over, darlin'!" I blush at his pet name for me, and let him lead me towards the couch. The steps are starting to become painful now, and my one crutch slips from under me and clatters to the ground.

Kent doesn't even think about it. He promptly sweeps me off my feet, grunting a little to support my weight, and he bridal-carries me to the couch and sets me down. I gaze at him with admiration.

"You're so strong," I flirt. Kent turns bright red.

"Guess that gym membership paid off, huh?" he cracks.

"It did, indeed," I praise, beaming. Kent slowly sits down beside me and I curl into him. We notice, but don't acknowledge, how my parents and Izzy are regarding us with knowing amusement. My sister's eyes are shining, glinting with mischief, and I know she will want all the answers I can give her.

As part of my discharge, I have been ordered to stay at home for three weeks and off my feet as much as possible. Kent will return to school on Wednesday, and has promised to seek out the girls and give them updates. My friends visited on Sunday, and seemed to appreciate that Kent was there. That doesn't mean I have any clue how Lindsay, Ally or Elody will react to Kent speaking to them within the walls of Jefferson High.

"I'll bring you your assignments every day," Kent promises. "And messages from your friends."

"Hmm," I purr contentedly. I raise my eyes to his. "Be careful," I implore him. "Around them all, but especially Lindsay."

"I'll handle it," he promises.

I kiss the corner of his mouth and snuggle deeper into him. "Good."

* * *

The next day is Wednesday, and Kent heads off to school, but not before texting me as he leaves, ending with an 'I love you.' That afternoon, and many that follow, he arrives at my house with all the work I need to make up. It is almost... domestic, like I am waiting for my husband to return from work. The thought makes me flush as soon as I think it. Kent and I... married? I shock myself when I do not immediately shoot the idea down. Sure, we're only 18, but perhaps... someday.

Winter turns to spring, and I gradually become stronger. Near the end of my three-week confinement, my mom and dad become confident that I can handle one weekend on my own, with Kent watching from afar. So they and Izzy go out of town, a decision which I happily endorse and encourage. They have been so amazing in helping me, and deserve a rest.

Friday afternoon, I hear the key turn in the lock from all the way in my bedroom, and know that Kent has let himself in.

"Sam, honey?"

"In my room, Kent!" Footsteps are heavy on the stairs, and he soon emerges in my doorway, smiling and bashful and his bangs adorably in his eyes.

"Got the weekend's homework," he sits down on the edge of my bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm ready to get out of here," I deadpan. He laughs.

"Three more days," he encourages. "You're moving with so much more assurance!"

I bite back a smile and avert my gaze. "Thanks." When I dare to make eye contact again, Kent is gazing at me with what can only be described as adoration. I giggle awkwardly.

"What?"

"I just can't believe I get to be with you. And you want me around."

I shake my head, smiling. "Oh, Kent... I'll always want you around." And I'm so moved, that I cannot contain myself any longer. Grabbing his neck, I yank him clean across the bed and kiss him fiercely.

We quickly become very involved, and we are soon tugging at each other's clothes in a dance that we have perfected but never rehearsed. A dance inherently learned. Kent only gets a hold of himself once I am in his lap and half-naked.

"Sam... Sam: are you sure?" I can hear it in his voice: his concern for my physical well-being, and while it is sweet, I have dealt with the fragility routine enough with my family.

I almost scowl at him, but refrain. "I'm not incapacitated," I say simply. "And I am ready." Kent stares into my eyes now clouded over with lust, and seems to register that I mean what I say. "I want you, Kent."

That does it. Our mouths snap back together in even more of a frenzy, and we hurriedly undress each other. Kent bends me back onto the mattress and I instinctively wrap my legs around him.

"Your... your family..." he practically chokes.

"Are gone for the weekend," I assure him. I grin impishly. "No one will hear you make me scream."

Kent groans and slowly shifts in between my legs. Only I know that I have technically lost my virginity during my February 12th time loop, but if I have to have a real first time, I know that Kent is the only partner I want.

So I feel almost relief when I sense my purity being shattered all over again as Kent gently enters me, as if Rob Cokran never dwelled there at all. I gasp at the sensation of us unifying, and rock my hips insistently, egging Kent on as he builds his confidence with each thrust.

"Oh, Kent... Kent, please!" I am sobbing from the pleasure now, tears pricking at my eyes over my love for this sweet, wonderful man.

We are awkward and moaning, but we learn together, and with tiny cries, climax within seconds of each other. Resting against each other, we watch the sun set through my window, back-dropping the skies of Washington State.

* * *

It is deep night as we still lie naked together. I feel Kent spooning me, his fingers drumming lightly along my bare skin. I sense him drop a kiss along the curve of my neck.

"You OK?" he rumbles. "You're so quiet."

"I know. I'm just... happy," I murmur sleepily. I laugh and crane my neck back around to see him. "This has been a great first date!"

"Damn right," he chuckles. "I've never stolen second base this fast in my life. Hell, I've been lucky to make first." We kiss chastely once, then again, before settling down in each other's arms.

"Good night," I whisper, just before I drift off.


	3. Chapter 3: Make the Most of Time

**Chapter 3: Make the Most of Time**

My return to school is a great success, and I am overjoyed to see my friends again. Although Lindsay, Ally and Elody are thrilled that I am going to be OK, there is a strange frostiness that comes over them when I try to join my two worlds together, by inviting my boyfriend and Juliet Sykes to join our table. Lindsay stares at me as if I have just expressed a desire to become a ballerina, so to defuse any more awkwardness, I choose to sit with my lover and Juliet at our own separate table, and I try to ignore the jilted glares that Lindsay is most definitely sending into the back of my head.

Every couple of weeks, I have to go to the hospital for a check-up on my progress since the accident. Kent more or less insists that he be present for as many of these as possible, until one morning in May, I have to practically beg him to sit this latest Friday appointment out.

"Take some time for yourself," I tell him in the parking lot.

He frowns with concern. "You'll be at my place afterwards?" Both sets of our parents have agreed that we can have sleepovers now that I am stronger, though no one knows of our tete-a-tete lovemaking from several weekends before.

"Of course. The moment it's over," I promise. I kiss him goodbye, and hop into my mom's car.

My doctor and I go through the routine procedures I have become accustomed to, along with a few new ones whose purpose I am uncertain about. Dr. Sanjay then leaves the room for close to 45 minutes, before returning.

"Ms. Kingston, in reviewing your internal organs and their repairs, I have come across two startling developments. First: you are about eight weeks pregnant. Congratulations."

I gape and my mother draws a hand to her mouth in disbelief. She is surely ready to demand an explanation, and I will give her an honest one, but for now...

"Second: we have discovered several masses growing throughout your body. We believe we are looking at Stage 4 breast cancer, and that the aggression of these growths was accelerated due to your accident."

I gulp. Just when I thought that my change had granted me a second chance at life, there is now the distinct possibility that I will die a slower, painful death, even with treatment. And all while now carrying a new life inside of me. Kent's baby. Happiness and despair go to war in my heart, and a single tear rolls down my cheek. Though I nod my head bravely.

"Thank you, Doctor. I wish to begin treatment immediately, for the sake of the baby. I will inform... inform the father." I am now in a race against time, and I will fight to stay alive long enough to give my child a fighting chance.

"Of course," Dr. Sanjay agrees, and he leaves. My mother and I lock gazes.

"Is it Kent's?" she whispers.

"Yes," I whisper brokenly back. Wordlessly, we depart the hospital, and speed towards the McFuller house. I have to tell him - all of it.

* * *

The house is deserted when I get there, but I encourage Mom to go home, trusting that wherever Kent is, it is close by and that he will return in due course. Silently, I slip into my boyfriend's bedroom and nestle in his bed, smiling fondly as I recall how he found me here that one February 12th, after I had sex with Rob. How Kent put me to bed and soothed me to sleep.

I must drift off, for I am awoken by the door opening, and hear Kent's sharp intake of surprise when he finds me in his bed. The sheets rustle as he crawls in next to me as softly as he dares and brushes his lips against my cheek.

"Hi," I whimper drowsily.

"Hey. Didn't want to wake you." He notices the smile across my face. "What are you so happy about?"

"My baby," I murmur.

"Oh, I should hope so! I always make you happy..."

I shake my head. "No, I mean my baby."

Kent laughs shakily a little bit, still not understanding. "Who?"

"My baby," I beam. "I want her to look like you."

Kent looks like he has just about swallowed his tongue. "Her? I... Are... are you serious?"

I nod, still grinning like a cat. "I'm eight weeks along. And I'm keeping it. I... I consider it an honor. To be the mother of your child."

Silence. Then, in the next second, Kent is practically tackling me, whooping. And then he is kissing me, again and again.

"I love you!" he rambles, over and over again.

"Kent... Mmm... Kent, wait..." I placate between kisses. "There's something else."

"Yeah?" He is gazing at me eagerly, and I bite my lip. It was not an easy decision, to give him the good news before the bad, but I figured the baby might cushion the blow.

"I also have cancer. Stage 4 breast."

Kent sits back on his heels, mouth moving silently like a fish. He looks like he wants to say something, so I plow on before he gets the chance. "The doctor thinks the accident exacerbated the growths and their aggression. I'm to start treatment as soon as possible, but I don't know..." I gulp. "If I can fight it off. I intend to until the baby is born, but all bets are off as to whether I can even get there."

Kent folds his hands together, almost like he is praying, pursing his lips in deep thought. His brow is furrowed and his eyes are intense, a look I have seen when he is drawing and one I have come to appreciate.

"What should we do?" he finally asks.

"Marry me," I blurt out impulsively.

Now, Kent nearly falls off the bed.

" _What_?"

I gulp. "If I am fated to die..."

"You are _not_ going to die -"

"I want to do it as your wife. And hopefully the mother of our child." My boyfriend must still look unconvinced, so I tearfully reach for him, begging. "Please, Kent. Will you marry me?"

There is a long pause. At last, he speaks.

"I want to do right by you. By all... three of us. Yes. Of course I will marry you."

And we seal our engagement with a kiss.

* * *

Ridgeview and Washington State are pretty liberal on most issues. But one thing you will find that is stridently conservative, even traditionalist, about us is how to deal with unplanned pregnancy. Whenever possible, if you get pregnant, get married. Oh, abortion clinics do exist, and I know plenty of girls at Jefferson High who have terminated their babies quite easily, but that was a route I never considered.

It is only weeks after Kent and I get engaged that we hold our wedding in the very same church my parents got married in. The guest list is small - my girlfriends, Juliet and Izzy serving as bridesmaids. A few of Kent's friends round out the groomsmen. My parents, his parents and that's it. Word will spread through the school quickly enough come Monday. Only Kent's and my parents know about the cancer diagnosis, and that it is an even stronger factor in our desire to get married than the baby is. I am still racking my brain for how to broach it with the girls (Juliet included), never mind Izzy.

When the minister pronounces us husband and wife, Kent and I shyly kiss like two kids in love, to much applause. With the help of Lindsay's phone, the reception starts almost immediately, with lively music.

Waltzing around in my husband's arms, I cannot get over how dashing he is, the outfit complete with - of course! - a bowler hat. Resting my head on his chest, I lose myself in this moment, as one of the songs I selected comes over the speakers:

 _"Child and a fool in one. So sure I could need no one. My heart always on the run to nowhere. Now, as you're holding me, my heart is reminding me that I could never be without you... And so I appeal to you... to keep me suspended in time with you. Don't let this moment die! I get a feeling when I'm with you, none of the rules apply. But I know for certain goodbye is a crime, so, love, if you need me, suspend me in time... In time..."_

Another slow song begins to play. Its beauty makes me frown, for it doesn't seem like Lindsay's style.

"I picked this one," Kent explains. "Stephen Schwartz really is the greatest composer alive."

I giggle. "Really?"

He nods, and we sway softly to the tune.

 _"In whatever time we have, for as long as we are living, we can face whatever comes, if we face it now as one. I could make it on my own, but we know that I don't have to. No one really wants to be alone, in whatever time we have. If at times we are afraid, with so little to believe in, it's all right to feel afraid. I will hold you in the dark. All we know for sure is this: though the world could end tomorrow, you and I will be together in whatever time we have. In whatever time we have, for as long as we are living, we know life can be a battlefield, but we won't run and we won't yield. You'll be my fortress and I will be your shield. No one really wants to be alone, in whatever time we have. There are times I've been afraid, in a world that's so uncertain, then I feel your hand in mine, and there's courage in my heart. We could live a hundred years, or the world could end tomorrow, but we know we'll be together in whatever time we have. From this day forward, nights won't seem so black! From this day forward, we will never look back. In whatever time we have, we will make the most of time, and at least we'll be together in whatever time we have..."_


	4. Chapter 4: Clock Running Down

**Chapter 4: Clock Running Down**

 **Kent's POV**

Sam and I forgo a traditional honeymoon beyond driving out to the coastline and contemplating the Pacific Ocean, cuddling and just being together. The very next Monday, we are back in school, same as always, looking forward to graduation. By lunchtime, the whole school has seen the rings on our fingers and the whispers have grown to a dull roar. I trust that Lindsay will confirm what rumors are true and which aren't. Though we've never had the best rapport, Sam's best friend does have her uses, gossip being chief among them.

Seating myself beside my wife (I still cannot believe that the woman I have always wanted asked me to marry her), I kiss Sam's lips gently and pass her her tray. Though she is barely 3 months along, I have insisted on doing everything I can for her until she either tells me to stop or I drop in exhaustion. So far, Sam has lobbed no complaints, and I know she thinks it's cute that I wait on her hand and foot. We begin to eat in silence, with no words beyond how our days have been. Finally, Sam sets down her sandwich and fixes me with a curious stare.

"Do you think it's weird?" she asks.

"Is what weird?" I ask.

"That we're married and still have to go to school."

I chuckle, wiping my napkin across my mouth. "It's no weirder than some of the things we've seen in this place. Like that," I point out my example, which is Rob Cokran staring daggers at us from clear across the cafeteria. There is hunger in his eyes as they rove over Sam, resting uncomfortably on her baby bump. Sam tenses and tears her gaze away.

"He'd better not try and steal me away from you."

"Stealing someone else's girlfriend and someone else's wife are two _very_ different things. If Lindsay's rumor mill is any good, he should know by now what we are to each other. And if he doesn't, then he's a bigger damn fool than I ever took him for!" I declare emphatically, stabbing a fork into my salad for emphasis. Sam beams at me, squeezing my hand.

"My hero... defending my honor."

"Always, sweetheart," I wink.

* * *

I am now a regular fixture at Sam's doctor appointments, which includes forays into accident recovery, pregnancy and cancer treatment. Once we graduate, I devote sole time and energy into my wife's medical care. I can clearly see that the strenuous demands are taking a toll on Sam's spirit and body. As her belly grows rounder, she grows progressively weaker, as spring heats into summer, chills into fall and freezes into winter.

"We're not gonna make it," I despair, panic.

"We're gonna make it," she counters me firmly. She is determined to have that baby, even if it kills her... and I shudder to think that it very well may.

Finally, in the middle of the holiday season, days before Christmas, I am staying over at the Kingstons' house, checking over the packed overnight bag. Sam is confined to bedrest, looking ready to pop. She is ballooning most everywhere, in fact - the sign that the tumors are continuing their assault, despite a fierce chemotherapy.

"Kent, sweetie, make sure you have enough bottles in there... OH!" Sam suddenly squeals as her hand flies to her stomach. I drop the bottles into the overnight bag as I spring to her side. Our eyes lock.

"Is that...?"

She nods. "My water just broke."

I try to take calm, steadying breaths, just like how we learned in the Family Planning classes Sam signed us up for this summer. But it doesn't last long before I am throwing my head out the door and screaming "ELLEN!" Sam's mom comes running.

The drive to the hospital gives me painful flashbacks to the night of Sam's accident, and although this kind of stress is much preferable to the one I felt that night, it is none the less nerve-wracking. With Sam ordering me from the backseat, I go through her phone, texting Lindsay, Ally, Elody, Juliet. Lindsay pings back if she can bring Patrick, and I quickly say Yes.

We scream into Ridgeview Hospital, and Sam is taken away on a gurney. I pelt after her; no less than my family is nestled in that stretcher and I know that if I let them out of my sight for just a second, I might never look upon them again.

The Kingstons and I dutifully wait just outside Sam's hospital and operating room, none of us speaking, though our thoughts are one. None of us wanted to be back here, in any situation, but particularly one where the setting appears not to have any control. Sam's appointments were different, because we had a pretty good idea how they were going to go. Now? All bets are off.

The girls and Patrick arrive first, Lindsay looking utterly stricken and demanding to know how Sam fares. Encouragingly, she isn't rude about it, but I can't tell if that means much. Juliet arrives a little later, and when Lindsay sees her, she loses it.

"What's she doing here?"

"Sam invited her," I snap shortly, which is the truth. She ordered it. "So, enough." Lindsay is struck into silence, but still chooses to take a seat as far down the hallway from Juliet as possible. It is hours before the door to Sam's room opens, and we are ushered in.

My wife looks so small in her gown, in the bedclothes, and I skid to a halt when I see that a pink bundle is nestled in her arms. The doctors must have moved on the delivery as quickly as possible, and I hear one speaking to Mr. Kingston in low tones.

"We had to operate quickly to save the baby. The tumors were beginning to threaten the amniotic sac."

Sinking to my knees besides the bed, I push Sam's bangs back from her sweaty forehead, kiss her temple. She smiles weakly at me, but her eyes - full of crippling love - are for the cooing infant currently wrapping a teeny hand around her finger.

"Katrina..." she whispers, and I moan a little at the name. Katrina. So full of beauty and yet raw power; I recall the infamous hurricane that struck New Orleans when Sam and I were small children - just kindergarten. "Hold onto this for me..." And I watch her rest her locket pendant across our daughter's chest. "It isn't much, my baby, no, but it will let you remember me..." At these words, my heart constricts. Oh no...

"Sam, don't..." I beg.

Sam just gazes at me tenderly, sadly. "It's too late, my love." And her voice is disturbingly weak. "Just take care of our girl. You can do this, Kent."

"No, I can't!" I break down, weeping.

"Yes, you _can_. After all, you're my hero. Thank you for being my hero."

Behind me, Juliet lets out a wail. "You can't go, Sam! You saved me!"

"No," Sam murmurs, her gaze affectionate. "You saved me." Reaching up, she kisses my lips one last time. "You know I love you," she whispers. And then, sinking down into the mattress, she grows still. The monitor flatlines, the tone almost mocking.

Shaking, I pick up our baby from where she is rested across her mother's chest, and affix the locket around Katrina's neck. Slowly, I turn to the group, everyone looking to me in disbelief. I clear my clogged throat, my mind drawing a blank as flat as the unresponsive monitor. "This is..." I cough. "This is Katrina." And I hold the bundle out to everyone.

Lindsay, who is standing closest, gets a good first look at the baby. Upon seeing her face, Lindsay's one eye visibly twitches, shakes, and the tremors soon take over her whole body. And then she is fleeing from the hospital room with a blood-curdling scream, and just before the door slams, I hear her wail, "SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE SAM!"

* * *

It is many hours before we leave, my wife's body having already been transported to the morgue. In all that time, Lindsay still has not returned, though we find her waiting for us numbly in the hallway outside. Upon seeing me and baby Katrina, life seems to come into her body again and she drifts close to me with purpose, peering at me as though she has never seen me before.

"Did you really love Sam?" she whispers. I hold her gaze gravely.

"From the moment I met her," I reply. "And I love anyone who ever made her happy, and I love our child."

Lindsay blinks back tears, her mouth in a taut line. "I'm sorry I ever thought less of you!" she breaks. "I... I am your friend from now on."

I smile wanly. "No. Now we're a _family_. That is what Sam would have wanted."


	5. Chapter 5: Bound Together

**Chapter 5: Bound Together**

I enter the College Union with my three-month old daughter, and scan the crowd of faces.

"Kent! Over here!" I quickly focus in on Lindsay's persistent hand waving and cross to my group of friends. Patrick pulls out an empty chair, which I drop into between him and Rob Cokran. Across from us, Lindsay, Ally, Elody and Juliet are picking at their trays, Juliet scribbling something in a notebook. Patrick peers at me closely.

"How did you sleep?"

"Great. I got a full forty minutes," I deadpan. Beside me, Rob snorts into his milk carton. "And I still managed to write that paper for Justice and the Family."

"Your daughter practically _is_ that paper, for Christ's sake!" Lindsay scoffs. "Honestly, Kent, you could make Katrina your independent study for that class, skip the lectures, and you'd _still_ get an A!"

"Very true," Juliet concurs without looking up from her notebook. I smile at her, as Katrina begins to whimper.

"I think she wants her godmother," I smirk, and I pass Katrina over to Juliet. Lindsay looks on with a tiny bit of lingering envy. It was not an easy decision, to choose guardians for my daughter without being able to consult Sam on her wishes. I chose Juliet largely because I thought it would give the depressed girl a reason to live on. She was very broken up by Sam's death - still is, to some degree.

"I'm still the favorite aunt, right?"

"She has an embarrassment of aunts - more than she'll know what to do with!" I laugh. "Chill out, Linds - let Katrina decide on her own in time!"

Sam's death bound both of her worlds together in a way that I don't think will ever be tested or strained. The girls welcomed me and the baby with open arms; after a heart-to-heart chat, Juliet followed with a truce in hand. Rob Cokran and Patrick soon joined our little motley crew and we all enrolled at the University of Washington together for the second semester. My parents didn't approve of me wanting to be a full-time student and also a full-time dad, offering to care for the baby themselves while I was at classes, but I refused. Katrina would not know her father only as that guy who flitted in and out on the weekends and holiday breaks. I intend to be invested in all aspects of her life.

"But we all know I'm the favorite uncle, right?" Patrick cracks.

"Sure, Pat," I smirk. "You _do_ have godfather rights."

Rob slaps a hand along his thigh and rises. "Welp, I'm gonna go get a refill. Wanna help, Juliet?"

She nods eagerly, slipping Katrina over to Ally, and I watch the two disappear to the other side of the mess hall with more than a little curiosity. I whip my head back around to Lindsay, demanding an explanation, but she has taken a special interest in her nail file, revealing nothing. Elody smiles at me sympathetically.

"Don't worry, love - I got the goods," and she grins like a feral cat. I turn to stare at Patrick in confusion, but he merely shrugs.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Fine. I'll go talk to them." I stand and fork over a bottle to Ally. "Feed her, will you?"

"No way - it's my turn!" Lindsay interrupts as Ally takes the bottle, and I leave the girls fighting over feeding duties. Skulking around a corner, I round the bend to find Juliet pushed up against one column by Rob, the two of them furiously kissing and Juliet purring like a kitten. My mouth drops open.

"Hey. What the hell is this?"

Juliet breaks away, her face beet red at having been found out.

"Lunch," Rob explains simply. I let out a bark of a laugh.

"Huh. Maybe I should have made _you_ godfather, Cokran," I ponder with amusement. We all laugh. "Does Lindsay know?"

"Yup. Says I couldn't land anyone better," Rob reports. I try to imagine that being delivered in Lindsay's tone, and can't decide whether it is a backhanded compliment towards Juliet or a shady put-down of Rob. I choose the former.

"High praise indeed," I say dryly. I give a jerk of my head. "Come on. You can make out more later."

And we return to our little family at our own little table.


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

I lay on the horn of my police cruiser, stick my head out the window. "Come on, Kitty Kat! Let's go!" No answer, so I lay on the horn again. "Katrina Juliet Kingston-McFuller, _now_! We're going to be late!"

The front door opens and my ten-year-old daughter, Katrina, scampers out with a backpack slung over one shoulder. She leaps into the backseat, and I set a course for downtown Ridgeview and Jefferson High. Through the overhead mirror, I see her dig out a book and begin to read.

"What story you on right now, kiddo?"

Silently, she holds up the book jacket. _Because of Winn-Dixie_.

"Ah... I remember reading that story. Third grade." A distant memory strikes me. "I sat next to your mom that entire school year."

At this, Katrina perks up. "Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"The little girl in this book, Opal, she doesn't have a mommy either. And she's also ten years old. And since I'm also ten years old, I think I should know ten things about my mama."

I wince a little, feeling the weight of my task deeply. No way I'll be able to think of ten distinct things about Sam by the time we reach the school. "Well, how about I start you off with number 1?"

"And what's that?"

"Your mother loved you. She loved you very much."

"Like in the picture on my nightstand!" Katrina chirps. It was a shot in the hospital that Patrick gave to me after the fact, one that shows Sam gazing down at our baby with beaming love. It is a photograph frozen in time, for scarcely five minutes after it was taken, everything went to shit.

"And we're here." I swing into the parking lot of the high school, where banners are already up welcoming the Class of 2017 to their 10th-year reunion. I help Katrina out of the back. "Come on - let's go find your aunts and uncles."

We spy them rather quickly, and Katrina breaks into a run ahead of me, so that I have to almost sprint to keep up.

"Uncle Rob! Aunt Juliet!"

A very pregnant Juliet smiles down at her. "There's my goddaughter!" Her husband firmly shakes my hand.

"There you are, you sonofabitch! Do I need to make you drop and give me 20? Your sprints were a little slow!"

I smirk in bemusement. Rob Cokran is now the football coach here, and played a big part as my personal trainer, preparing me to enter the Ridgeview Police Academy and pass their physical exam.

A shriek from behind us makes us all spin around, to find a triumvirate of girls loping across the grass towards us.

"Stop. Growing!" Lindsay wails as she throws her arms around Katrina. "Auntie doesn't like it when you grow."

"I do," her husband, Patrick, mumbles to me under his breath. "She still treats Kitty Kat like she's in diapers."

I shrug. "Maternal instinct." I have long grown used to Lindsay's smothering of my child. Mostly because Ally and Elody balance her out, playing cool with my kid and letting her do her own thing. Ally fills these shoes the easiest of all, as I can already hear my daughter peppering her with questions about ghosts. When I first heard that Ally had embarked on a career as a paranormal investigator, landing her own hit HBO series in the bargain, I was more than a little shocked. But Ally told me the decision was hugely influenced by Sam, and especially the day of her accident.

"She was acting so strangely that day," Ally had told me over coffee, on a visit over to my house so she could play with Katrina. "I think she knew she was going to die that day! And I've always wondered how she knew? Like she had a premonition!"

"Oh, come on, Ally, really?" I had laughed.

"No, I'm serious! There are stories of 9/11 victims having premonitions about the attacks years before their own deaths! And President Lincoln had a dream about being assassinated just before he was!"

I am still a little skeptical about this, but to each his own. I disentangle Katrina from the hug she is getting from her Aunt Elody and corrall everybody. "Come on. Let's go find a table." And we set off laughing underneath the Washington sun.


End file.
